Francis blooms at death dance

By Jon Juliano
Collegian Staff
April 25, 2007

Let me start this review by trying to portray Sage Francis. He was born in Providence, R.I., and is a crazy genius like the scientist at the beginning of Aqua Teen episodes, only with an occasional long beard. He is a very smart emcee and poet. He is also one of the scariest people to battle against because he has a vast vocabulary and lives on a higher plane than everyone else.

He is known for making rare bootlegs, and made a name for himself at Scribble Jam 2001 where he won the freestyle contest, where, in one battle, he called his friend, albino rapper Brother Ali, “a fat black man with Michael Jackson disease.”

This stellar emcee is hit or miss, however, because he is so abstract, so different and so weird. His first two major albums, Personal Journals and A Healthy Distrust, showed off his talent and were great at times, but were so all over the place that they seemed to fall short. But his new, third album, Human the Death Dance, is, as a whole, the best I have ever heard from Francis.

Francis kicks the album off with a four minute autobiography of his career. “…I won the biggest battle in a Metallica shirt before the album dropped/A week later smashed the trophy at a show/It was taking the space that I needed to grow.”

That line shows how being a poet helps him with wordplay and metaphor in songs, not to mention how introspective he can be. He knew he could have stayed a two dimensional battle rapper and freestyler, but wouldn’t have been satisfied. Human the Death Dance shows a more rounded rapper who takes more chances.

On the song “Got Up This Morning,” Francis depicts a relationship with a girl without metaphors and is more honest than he has ever been on previous songs. He has perfectly constructed a song that is nothing but underground hip-hop, but is so catchy and direct that it can appeal to a broader audience.

And of course, what could a Francis album be without some abstraction. On the song “Clickety Clack,” Francis tells a story of either being on the run, or being chased by something. I get the feeling it’s a metaphor for something only he knows, but regardless, it’s a song that’s worthy of listening to repeatedly if only to try and gain some insight on what the song is actually about.

“Hell of a Year” is great simply for the catchy but weepy keyboard, and the line where Francis says, “My baby now is all grown up/ Your car is still dead in the driveway while I wait for the tow truck/And you know what, I know I drove you away and I still don’t think it’s wrong so I don’t know what to say.”

The album is just another good underground hip-hop release and follows El-P and Sean Price for what will be a good summer for fans. With this album and the three “Rock The Bells Festivals” Francis will be performing, you will be hearing a lot more about the strange rapper.

julianoj3@lasalle.edu